Vacuum grippers are used in many industrial fields (automobile industry, pharmaceuticals, etc.), e.g. for applications for taking hold of, handling, and manipulating parts on a production line.
A vacuum gripper associated with a pneumatic or electric vacuum generator includes a gripper plate on which gripper means are designed to take hold of the part when the air contained inside the vacuum gripper is sucked out. Such gripper means are usually constituted either by a certain number of suction cups, or by a foam pad having a certain number of gripper points.
Each particular gripping application has its own constraints. Thus, parts that vacuum grippers are suitable for handling or manipulating are of variable weights and sizes. In addition, the required levels of vacuum, and the gripping cycle times differ depending on the applications.
Vacuum grippers must thus be manufactured in such a manner as to satisfy the constraints specific to the particular gripping application in which they are used. It is thus relatively complex to implement methods of mass producing such grippers and thus to manufacture such grippers in short times and at low cost.